Extreme Market Board Undercutting is a Problem. Who ultimately benefits from this?

[DynnDiablos]

As someone who recently got into crafting and gathering and leveled everything up to an extent, I've been spending a lot more time selling items on the MB. Now, I've gotten in a groove with certain things that sell well, and I am making a humble 60-100k per day on average, sometimes more sometimes less.

However, I've noticed that EXTREME and I mean EXTREME undercutting seems to run rampant on the MB. Who benefits from this really? I've seen items that were selling for 8,000-$15,000 Gil comfortably, plummet to 100 Gil or less because several people jump on the massive undercutting bandwagon. In the end...NO ONE makes any money, so what good comes from it?

I have to wonder are these people who are all maxed crafters and gatherers with millions in the bank and just simply don't care about tanking the entire MB pricing structure or are these new crafters so desperate to make a Gil they will take anything.

One way I've gotten around this is by buying up all the extremely low listings and re-selling them higher and just taking over the MB for that particular item, but this, of course, is a gil investment and there's no guarantee I will make it back. Thankfully, it has usually worked in my favor.

It is frustrating though.

[bezal]

your selling in a bots market they spend no effort to get the items so any money made is profit

[Krojack]

your selling in a bots market they spend no effort to get the items so any money made is profit

Pretty much this. I went to check the Ephemeral nodes right before posting this and 1 of the 2 bots I've been reporting for almost a year now are still going at it. I'm sure the other one is off doing some other gather or just bugged out.

SE won't ban max level gather bots.

[Samsta]

If so many people are willing to sell the item at so low of a price, there is an abundance of that item. It's just free market at play, happens at every game with an auction house, nothing strange about it. If there is an item with high demand you will make money with it. This can be seen with materia, the grade 8 materia sells really well but it has seen a natural reduction in prize as more people have gotten their hands on them from dungeons and what not.

[DynnDiablos]

If so many people are willing to sell the item at so low of a price, there is an abundance of that item. It's just free market at play, happens at every game with an auction house, nothing strange about it. If there is an item with high demand you will make money with it. This can be seen with materia, the grade 8 materia sells really well but it has seen a natural reduction in prize as more people have gotten their hands on them from dungeons and what not.

Then I will continue to buy them all up and re-sell them at 300x the price. Also, I can understand with a popular item this happening. But what I've noticed is like 2-3 people will extremely undercut and then everyone just follows suit, which basically saps all value from the item.

[Vahlnir]

Then I will continue to buy them all up and re-sell them at 300x the price. Also, I can understand with a popular item this happening. But what I've noticed is like 2-3 people will extremely undercut and then everyone just follows suit, which basically saps all value from the item.

You can keep buying things up and reselling them, but if there's an overabundance of an item or if the price is simply something people aren't willing to pay in a timely fashion, then the price will go back down regardless. Most everyone undercuts, even if it's by 1 gil, because people want to make gil. I undercut as well. Sometimes it is by 1, sometimes it is by 500 or more. But I usually only undercut massively if an item doesn't sell after a few days have passed. Then I just slash all my prices (usually by at least half but usually more) so I can post more things on the MB sooner. It works, and works well.

[starburns]

Then I will continue to buy them all up and re-sell them at 300x the price. Also, I can understand with a popular item this happening. But what I've noticed is like 2-3 people will extremely undercut and then everyone just follows suit, which basically saps all value from the item.

300x the price. nice lie dude who has never sold a materia in his life, go waste more time leveling crafters ill stay here undercutting everyone till the day I die because thats the only way to sell anything.

[DynnDiablos]

300x the price. nice lie dude who has never sold a materia in his life, go waste more time leveling crafters ill stay here undercutting everyone till the day I die because thats the only way to sell anything.

Is there a reason you feel the need to be so hostile? I've sold materia. I've sold stuff I gathered. I've sold stuff my retainers bring back. Leveling crafters is not a waste of time, and if the only way you can sell items is by undercutting that doesn't make you a MB mastermind.

Why don't you calm down, and just take a breather? None of my posts or follow-up posts have been rude or attacking. This is all a discussion, so why not participate in a friendly way?

[SamSmoot]

Then I will continue to buy them all up and re-sell them at 300x the price. Also, I can understand with a popular item this happening. But what I've noticed is like 2-3 people will extremely undercut and then everyone just follows suit, which basically saps all value from the item.

I've always had a problem with people flipping market items. Sometimes, I'd like to post some low-level stuff at reasonable prices to help hew players out, but then some bot will just buy it and repost. All flipping does is enrich a few players at the expense of everyone else.

This was a big problem in WoW with bots. You'd sell something at a low price, and it would be purchased instantly by some "player" who has been sitting in a corner of the auction house for 24 hours a day.

It would be nice if anything purchased off the MB would become market prohibited, until it was turned into something else via crafting, desynth, or conversion. Unfortunately, this would be extremely difficult, because the number of marketable items would be doubled by creating prohibited versions of each one.

[ForteNightshade]

It would be nice if anything purchased off the MB would become market prohibited, until it was turned into something else via crafting, desynth, or conversion. Unfortunately, this would be extremely difficult, because the number of marketable items would be doubled by creating prohibited versions of each one.

The reason this doesn't happen is because it's far too easy to exploit. Someone with a vendetta can destroy markets with it having no way to recover unless someone threw away millions buying everything up only to toss it since the items are now worthwhile. At least now, you can make a profit off said vendetta which alone discourages most people from purposely trying to tank markets.